Friday, January 23, 2009

1) I thought Kirsten Gillibrand was a better choice for the Clinton Senate seat than Caroline Kennedy, even if I feel Kennedy would have made a fine Senator and felt compelled to defend her to the exclusion of mentioning (except in passing) Gillibrand. Too, KG's name had rarely come up in conversation in the news, with Kennedy, Cuomo and Carolyn Maloney (my Congresscritter, who ought to keep an eye on her flank, because I'm thinking about challenging her). Gillibrand is a liberal Democrat. Yes, as the link points out, she's not liberal in a NYC sense, but given her district, which demographically hews towards redneck, she's very liberal.

The article is misleading in one sense: it paints Gillibrand as a fiscal conservative for voting against the bailout bill. In hindsight, the bailout bill rewarded Bush's banking cronies (they are cronies of most Congresscritters as well, to be fair). That "No" vote was quite liberal, in my opinion.

2) Speaking of progressives, the Obama administration really is wasting no time moving the country into the 21st Century. Those creepy commercials with Christopher Reeve walking may come true, too late, sadly. Thank you, George W Bush.

3) I hate to admit this: after eight years of great sport with the Bush twins and their wholly inappropriate behavior in the White House, this made me soften my opinion of them. Perhaps they will turn out alright after all.

4) If you are under the stock markets today, you might want to consider a hard hat.

"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things...every one! So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor." -- Matt Santos, The West Wing